Be scar less and flawless with Vine’s CO2 laser

Scarring is part of the body’s healing
process but scars need not stay on your skin forever. The same goes with skin hyper-pigmentation.
But through innovative solutions discovered by dermatologists, many patients
are now faced with several alternatives on how to improve their skin condition.

One of the latest methods out there is the fractional
carbon dioxide laser treatment. According to Dr. Emehly Sevilla of Vine Holistic
Medical Aesthetics, both young and old may undergo the treatment. In fact, her youngest patient was seven years
old. Indications of the CO2 laser treatment include deep scars, big pores,
stretch marks, fine lines, and skin conditions like syringomas, milias, warts,
keloids, melasma, freckles, and hyperpigmentation in the face, underarm, under
butt, knees, elbows, fingers and toes. It can also treat dark lines and
‘chicken skin’ on underarms.

Aside from erasing marks and blemishes, it
is also a good anti-aging tool and can be done along with other treatments.
Vine’s extensive and simple programs work in synergy for optimum effect. Dr.
Sevilla said she erases wrinkles with fractional carbon dioxide laser and
proceeds with the Botox procedure.

“If the patients do not have skin problems
but want to tighten their pores, wants to have skin rejuvenation and remove
fine lines, fractional carbon dioxide laser can do that. It’s a good
maintenance as well. Even some 25-year olds already have mini-lines on their
forehead because of the lifestyle today, so this treatment is the answer,” said
Dr. Sevilla.

In the past, doctors only based their
evaluation on the visual and history of the patient (background of what really
happened) to know how deep the problem is. With the new fractional carbon
dioxide laser machine, its skin analyzer can accurately assess the skin problem
and recommend the ideal operation. It can tell if the skin is moist or dry and
will set itself to the safest setting that the patient needs.

However, Dr.
Sevilla said that the new machine can also be set manually if the doctor wishes
to.

"If you overset the treatment for a
certain problem because you’re only visually only looking at it, it may cause
inflammatory hyperpigmentation that will leave dark marks,” noted Sevilla.

The advantage of fractional carbon dioxide
laser treatment is that it is measurable, precise and safe. “The problem with
peels is that you cannot control its absorption. There are patients where you put
this percentage and they would absorb and peel so much, but if you apply the
same percent

age to other patients who have thicker skin, they won’t peel that
much,” explained Dr. Sevilla.

Furthermore, she said that with needling
procedures, doctors can only base on the visuals and history taking so it may
not be precise. For safety, the doctor, nurse and patient
wear goggles during the whole procedure which usually lasts for 15 to 20
minutes. If the area to be treated is near the eyes, they use micropore tape so
that the eyes remain closed.

“Laser is okay with treating eye bag area but for safety reasons, we don’t recommend treating on
the upper eyelid (on top of eyeballs) even if the depth can be controlled,”
remarked Dr. Sevilla.

Before the procedure, anesthesia cream is
applied on the skin. It takes 30 minutes to numb the face and one hour for
extremities. A slight discomfort may be felt on the first session. But none of
that will happen in the succeeding sessions, said Dr. Sevilla. She explained
that the tip of the machine emits air and distracts the patient from any
possible pain.

The procedure will leave the patient with
pinkish skin. To go back to their daily activities, patients need to undergo
cryoporation before leaving the center to close the pores, relax the skin and
infuse more serum. Post laser cream is given to enhance cell repair.

After getting the laser treatment, avoid
eating chicken, seafood and eggs. Do not wash the face or put on makeup for at
least 12 hours after the treatment but sunblock lotion can be used as long as
the skin has already absorbed the serum. Patients can come back for another
session as early as two weeks but normal protocol is a month.

However, not everyone can just go and get
the procedure. Contraindications include chronic skin diseases like psoriasis,
allergies, fungal infection, eczema, rashes, measles and chicken pox. “Treat
the skin problem first before doing the laser. But if the area to be treated is
far away from area with disease, laser can be done,” related Dr. Sevilla.